Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Contents
Geography and Major Biomes
Wetlands
Forests
Marine Environment
Biodiversity
Species Diversity
Endemic Species
Threatened Species
Protected Areas Network
Development and History
Protected Areas of the Western Ghats
International Programmes and Conventions
Appendices
Figures
Tables
References
Physically the massive country is divided into four relatively well defined regions - the Himalayan
mountains, the Gangetic river plains, the southern (Deccan) plateau, and the islands of
Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar. The Himalayas in the far north include some of the
highest peaks in the world. The highest mountain in the Indian Himalayas is Khangchenjunga
(8586 m) which is located in Sikkim on the border with Nepal. To the south of the main
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Himalayan massif lie the Lesser Himalaya, rising to 3,600- 4,600 m, and represented by the Pir
Panjal in Kashmir and Dhaula dhar in Himachal Pradesh. Further south, flanking the Indo-
Gangetic Plain, are the Siwaliks which rise to 900-1,500 m.
The northern plains of India stretch from Assam in the east to the Punjab in the west (a distance
of 2,400 km), extending south to terminate in the saline swamplands of the Rann of Kachchh
(Kutch), in the state of Gujarat. Some of the largest rivers in India including the Ganga (Ganges),
Ghaghara, Brahmaputra, and the Yamuna flow across this region. The delta area of these rivers
is located at the head of the Bay of Bengal, partly in the Indian state of west Bengal but mostly in
Bangladesh. The plains are remarkably homogenous topographically: for hundreds of kilometres
the only perceptible relief is formed by floodplain bluffs, minor natural levees and hollows known
as 'spill patterns', and the belts of ravines formed by gully erosion along some of the larger rivers.
In this zone, variation in relief does not exceed 300 m (FAO/UNEP, 1981) but the uniform
flatness conceals a great deal of pedological variety. The agriculturally productive alluvial silts
and clays of the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta in north-eastern India, for example, contrast strongly
with the comparatively sterile sands of the Thar Desert which is located at the western extremity
of the Indian part of the plains in the state of Rajasthan.
The climate of India is dominated by the Asiatic monsoon, most importantly by rains from the
south-west between June and October, and drier winds from the north between December and
February. From March to May the climate is dry and hot.
Wetlands
India has a rich variety of wetland habitats. The total area of wetlands (excluding rivers) in India
is 58,286,000ha, or 18.4% of the country, 70% of which comprises areas under paddy
cultivation. A total of 1,193 wetlands, covering an area of about 3,904,543 ha, were recorded
in a preliminary inventory coordinated by the Department of Science and Technology, of which
572 were natural (Scott, 1989). India's most important wetland areas are shown in Figure 2 .
Two sites - Chilka Lake (Orissa) and Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur) - have been
designated under the Convention of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention)
as being especially significant waterfowl habitats. The country's wetlands are generally
differentiated by region into eight categories (Scott, 1989): the reservoirs of the Deccan Plateau
in the south, together with the lagoons and the other wetlands of the southern west coast; the
vast saline expanses of Rajasthan, Gujarat and the gulf of Kachchh; freshwater lakes and
reservoirs from Gujarat eastwards through Rajasthan (Kaeoladeo Ghana National park) and
Madhya Pradesh; the delta wetlands and lagoons of India's east coast (Chilka Lake); the
freshwater marshes of the Gangetic Plain; the floodplain of the Brahmaputra; the marshes and
swamps in the hills of north-east India and the Himalayan foothills; the lakes and rivers of the
montane region of Kashmir and Ladakh; and the mangroves and other wetlands of the island
arcs of the Andamans and Nicobars.
Forests
India possesses a distinct identity, not only because of its geography, history and culture but also
because of the great diversity of its natural ecosystems.The panorama of Indian forests ranges
from evergreen tropical rain forests in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Western Ghats,
and the north-eastern states, to dry alpine scrub high in the Himalaya to the north. Between the
two extremes, the country has semi-evergreen rain forests, deciduous monsoon forests, thorn
forests, subtropical pine forests in the lower montane zone and temperate montane forests (Lal,
1989). The distribution of the major evergreen forest formations of the region are depicted in
Figure 3.
One of the most important tropical forests classifications was developed for Greater India
(Champion, 1936) and later republished for present-day India (Champion and Seth, 1968). This
approach has proved to have wide application outside India. In it 16 major forests types are
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recognised, subdivided into 221 minor types. Structure, physiognomy and floristics are all used
as characters to define the types.
The main areas of tropical forest are found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; the Western
Ghats, which fringe the Arabian Sea coastline of peninsular India; and the greater Assam region
in the north-east. Small remnants of rain forest are found in Orissa state. Semi-evergreen rain
forest is more extensive than the evergreen formation partly because evergreen forests tend to
degrade to semi-evergreen with human interference. There are substantial differences in both the
flora and fauna between the three major rain forest regions (IUCN, 1986; Rodges and Panwar,
1988).
The Western Ghats Monsoon forests occur both on the western (coastal) margins of the ghats
and on the eastern side where there is less rainfall. Figure 4 shows the distribution of forest in
Kerala State, which contains part of the Western Ghats range. These forests contain several tree
species of great commercial significance (e.g. Indian rosewood Dalbergia latifolia, Malabar
Kino Pterocarpus marsupium, teak and Terminalia crenulata), but they have now been
cleared from many areas. In the rain forests there is an enormous number of tree species. At
least 60 percent of the trees of the upper canopy are of species which individually contribute not
more than one percent of the total number. Clumps of bamboo occur along streams or in poorly
drained hollows throughout the evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of south-west India,
probably in areas once cleared for shifting agriculture.
The tropical vegetation of north-east India (which includes the states of Assam, Nagaland,
Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya as well as the plain regions of Arunachal Pradesh)
typically occurs at elevations up to 900 m. It embraces evergreen and semi-evergreen rain
forests, moist deciduous monsoon forests, riparian forests, swamps and grasslands. Evergreen
rain forests are found in the Assam Valley, the foothills of the eastern Himalayas and the lower
parts of the Naga Hills, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Manipur where the rain fall exceeds 2300
mm per annum. In the Assam Valley the giant Dipterocarpus macrocarpus and Shorea
assamica occur singly, occasionally attaining a girth of up to 7 m and a height of up to 50 m.
The monsoon forests are mainly moist sal Shorea robusta forests, which occur widely in this
region (IUCN, 1991).
The Andamans and Nicobar islands have tropical evergreen rain forests and tropical semi-
evergreen rainforests as well as tropical monsoon moist monsoon forests (IUCN, 1986).The
tropical evergreen rain forest is only slightly less grand in stature and rich in species than on the
mainland. The dominant species is Dipterocarpus grandiflorus in hilly areas, while
Dipterocarpus kerrii is dominant on some islands in the southern parts of the archipelago. The
monsoon forests of the Andamans are dominated by Pterocarpus dalbergioides and
Terminalia spp.
Marine Environment
The nearshore coastal waters of India are extremely rich fishing grounds. The total commercial
marine catch for India has stabilised over the last ten years at between 1.4 and 1.6 million
tonnes, with fishes from the clupeoid group (e.g. sardines Sardinella sp., Indian shad Hilsa sp.
and whitebait Stolephorus sp.) accounting for approximately 30% of all landings. In 1981 it was
estimated that there were approximately 180,000 non-mechanised boats (about 90% of India's
fishing fleet) carrying out small-scale, subsistence fishing activities in these waters. At the same
time there were about 20,000 mechanised boats and 75 deep-sea fishing vessels operating
mainly out of ports in the states of Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Coral reefs occur along only a few sections of the mainland, principally the Gulf of Kutch, off the
southern mainland coast, and around a number of islands opposite Sri Lanka. This general
absence is due largely to the presence of major river systems and the sedimentary regime on the
continental shelf. Elsewhere, corals are also found in Andaman, Nicobar (Figure 5), and
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Lakshadweep island groups although their diversity is reported to be lower than in south-east
India (UNEP/IUCN, 1988).
Indian coral reefs have a wide range of resources which are of commercial value. Exploitation of
corals, coral debris and coral sands is widespread on the Gulf of Mannar and Gulf of Kutch
reefs, while ornamental shells, chanks and pearl oysters are the basis of an important reef
industry in the south of India. Sea fans and seaweeds are exported for decorative purposes, and
there is a spiny lobster fishing industry along the south-east coast, notably at Tuticorin, Madras
and Mandapam Commercial exploitation of aquarium fishes from Indian coral reefs has gained
importance only recently and as yet no organised effort has been made to exploit these
resources. Reef fisheries are generally at the subsistence level and yields are unrecorded.
Other notable marine areas are seagrass beds, which although not directly exploited are valuable
as habitats for commercially harvested species, particularly prawns, and mangrove stands. In the
Gulf of Mannar the green tiger prawn Penaeus semisulcatus is extensively harvested for the
export market. Seagrass beds are also important feeding areas for the dugong Dugong dugon,
plus several species of marine turtle.
Five species of marine turtle occur in Indian waters: Green turtle Chelonia mydas, Loggerhead
Caretta caretta, Olive Ridley Lepidochelys olivacea, Hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata and
Leatherback Dermochelys coriacea. Most of the marine turtle populations found in the Indian
region are in decline. The principal reason for the decrease in numbers is deliberate human
predation. Turtles are netted and speared along the entire Indian coast. In south-east India the
annual catch is estimated at 4,000-5,000 animals, with C. mydas accounting for about 70% of
the harvest. C. caretta and L. olivacea are the most widely consumed species (Salm, 1981).
E. imbricata is occasionally eaten but it has caused deaths and so is usually caught for its shell
alone. D. coriacea is boiled for its oil which is used for caulking boats and as protection from
marine borers. Incidental netting is widespread. In the Gulf of Mannar turtles are still reasonably
common near seagrass beds where shrimp trawlers operate, but off the coast of Bengal the
growing number of mechanized fishing boats has had the effect of increasing incidental catch
rates (Kar and Bhaskar, 1981). (Figure 6) shows known turtle nesting areas in the Andaman
Islands.
Biodiversity
Species Diversity
India contains a great wealth of biological diversity in its forests, its wetlands and in its marine
areas. This richness is shown in absolute numbers of species and the proportion they represent
of the world total (see Table 1).
Table 1. Comparison Between the Number of Species in India and the World.
India has a great many scientific institutes and university departments interested in various
aspects of biodiversity. A large number of scientists and technicians have been engaged in
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inventory, research, and monitoring. The general state of knowledge about the distribution and
richness of the country's biological resources is therefore fairly good.
Inventories of birds, mammals, trees, fish and reptiles are moderately complete. As examples
see Appendix 3 for a list of the birds of India, and Appendix 4 for a list of the mammals of India.
Knowledge of special interest groups such as primates, pheasants, bovids, endemic birds,
orchids, and so on,is steadily improving through collaboration of domestic scientists with those
from overseas. The importance of these biological resources cannot be overestimated for the
continued welfare of India's population.
Endemic Species
India has many endemic plant and vertebrate species. Among plants, species endemism is
estimated at 33% with c. 140 endemic genera but no endemic families (Botanical Survey of
India, 1983). Areas rich in endemism are north-east India, the Western Ghats and the north-
western and eastern Himalayas. A small pocket of local endemism also occurs in the Eastern
Ghats (MacKinnon & MacKinnon, 1986). The Gangetic plains are generally poor in endemics,
while the Andaman and Nicobar Islands contribute at least 220 species to the endemic flora of
India (Botanical Survey of India, 1983).
WCMC's Threatened Plants Unit (TPU) is in the preliminary stages of cataloguing the world's
centres of plant diversity; approximately 150 botanical sites worldwide are so far recognised as
important for conservation action, but others are constantly being identified (IUCN, 1987). Five
locations have so far been issued for India: the Agastyamalai Hills, Silent Valley and New
Amarambalam Reserve and Periyar National Park (all in the Western Ghats), and the Eastern
and Western Himalaya. These centres are shown in Figure 7.
The 396 known endemic higher vertebrate species identified by WCMC from source references
are listed in Appendix 2. Endemism among mammals and birds is relatively low. Only 44 species
of Indian mammal have a range that is confined entirely to within Indian territorial limits. Four
endemic species of conservation significance occur in the Western Ghats. They are the Lion-
tailed macaque Macaca silenus, Nilgiri leaf monkey Trachypithecus johni (locally better
known as Nilgiri langur Presbytis johnii), Brown palm civet Paradoxurus jerdoni and Nilgiri
tahr Hemitragus hylocrius.
Only 55 bird species are endemic to India, with distributions concentrated in areas of high
rainfall. These areas, mapped by BirdLife International (formerly the International Council for
Bird Preservation) are shown in Figure 7. They are located mainly in eastern India along the
mountain chains where the monsoon shadow occurs, south-west India (the Western Ghats), and
the Nicobar and Andaman Islands (ICBP, 1992).
In contrast, endemism in the Indian reptilian and amphibian fauna is high. There are around 187
endemic reptiles, and 110 endemic amphibian species. Eight amphibian genera are not found
outside India. They include, among the caecilians, Indotyphlus, Gegeneophis and
Uraeotyphlus; and among the anurans, the toad Bufoides, the microhylid Melanobatrachus,
and the frogs Ranixalus, Nannobatrachus and Nyctibatrachus. Perhaps most notable among
the endemic amphibian genera is the monotypic Melanobatrachus which has a single species
known only from a few specimens collected in the Anaimalai Hills in the 1870s (Groombridge,
1983). It is possibly most closely related to two relict genera found in the mountains of eastern
Tanzania.
Threatened Species
India contains 172 species of animal considered globally threatened by IUCN, or 2.9% of the
world's total number of threatened species (Groombridge, 1993). These include 53 species of
mammal, 69 birds, 23 reptiles and 3 amphibians. A full list of these species is given in Appendix
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5. India contains globally important populations of some of Asia's rarest animals, such as the
Bengal Fox, Asiatic Cheetah, Marbled Cat, Asiatic Lion, Indian Elephant, Asiatic Wild Ass,
Indian Rhinoceros, Markhor, Gaur, Wild Asiatic Water Buffalo etc. Summary accounts for
some of the globally threatened mammals found in India are given in Appendix 6. The number of
species in various taxa that are listed under the different categories of endangerment is shown
below in Table 2.
Source: Groombridge, B. (ed). 1993. The 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.
IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. lvi + 286 pp.
A workshop held in 1982 indicated that as many as 3,000-4,000 higher plants may be under a
degree of threat in India. Since then, the Project on Study, Survey and Conservation of
Endangered species of Flora (POSSCEP) has partially documented these plants, and published
its findings in Red Data Books (Nayar and Sastry, 1987). Appendix 7 provides a conservation
status listing of many of these plants, based on information maintained at WCMC, whilst Table
3 provides summary statistics for this information.
The protection of wildlife has a long tradition in Indian history. Wise use of natural resources
was a prerequisite for many hunter-gatherer societies which date back to at least 6000 BC.
Extensive clearance of forests accompanied the advance of agricultural and pastoral societies in
subsequent millennia, but an awareness of the need for ecological prudence emerged and many
so-called pagan nature conservation practices were retained. As more and more land became
settled or cultivated, so these hunting reserves increasingly became refuges for wildlife. Many of
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these reserves were subsequently declared as national parks or sanctuaries, mostly after
Independence in 1947. Examples include Gir in Gujarat, Dachigam in Jammu & Kashmir,
Bandipur in Karnataka, Eravikulum in Kerala, Madhav (now Shivpuri) in Madhya Pradesh,
Simlipal in Orissa, and Keoladeo, Ranthambore and Sariska in Rajasthan.
Wildlife, together with forestry, has traditionally been managed under a single administrative
organisation within the forest departments of each state or union territory, with the role of central
government being mainly advisory. There have been two recent developments. First, the Wildlife
(Protection) Act has provided for the creation of posts of chief wildlife wardens and wildlife
wardens in the states to exercise statutory powers under the Act. Under this Act, it is also
mandatory for the states to set up state wildlife advisory boards. Secondly the inclusion of
protection of wild animals and birds in the concurrent list of the constitution, has proved the
union with some legislative control over the states in the conservation of wildlife (Pillai, 1982).
The situation has since improved, all states and union territories with national parks or
sanctuaries having set up wildlife wings.
The adoption of a National Policy for Wildlife Conservation in 1970 and the enactment of the
Wildlife (Protection) Act in 1972 lead to a significant growth in the protected areas network,
from 5 national parks and 60 sanctuaries to 69 and 410 respectively, in 1990 (Panwar, 1990).
The complete United Nations List of National Parks and Protected Areas for India (1993) is
given in Appendix 8. These protected areas, shown in Figure 8, are distributed throughout
mainland India and its islands.
The network was further strengthened by a number of national conservation projects, notably
Project Tiger, initiated in April 1973 by the Government of India with support from WWF
(IBWL, 1972; Panwar, 1982), and the crocodile Breeding and Management Project, launched
on 1 April, 1975 with technical assistance from UNDP/FAO (Bustard, 1982).
There are currently seven national parks in the Western Ghats with a total area of 2,073 sq. km
(equivalent to 1.3% of the region) and 39 wildlife sanctuaries covering an area of about 13,862
sq. km (8.1%). The protected areas of Kerala State are shown in Figure 9.
The management status of the wildlife sanctuaries in this part of India varies enormously. Tamil
Nadu's Nilgiri wildlife sanctuary, for example, has no human inhabitants, small abandoned
plantation areas and no produce exploitation, while the Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary in
Kerala includes considerable areas of commercial plantations and privately owned estates with
heavy resource exploitation. Summary sheets describing some of the protected areas in Kerala
State are given in Appendix 9.
Since India became a party to CITES on 18th October 1976 it has provided data annually to
the CITES secretariat on the trade of endangered species through its CITES Management
Authority. The text of the CITES convention along with the CITES appendices are provided.
India ratified the World Heritage Convention in 1977 and since then five natural sites have
been inscribed as areas of 'outstanding universal value'. These sites are:
India signed the Convention on Biological Diversity on 5th June 1992, ratified it on 18th
February 1994 and brought it into force on 19th May 1994. This convention will provide a
framework for the sustainable management and conservation of India's natural resources.
India has been a contracted party to the Ramsar Convention since 1st February 1982. India
has now six sites covering some 192,973 hectares of important wetlands. These sites are;
Chilka Lake
Keoladeo National Park
Wular Lake
Harike Lake
Loktak Lake
Sambhar Lake
Appendices
Appendix 1 Summary Data for India
Appendix 2 Endemic Animals of India
Appendix 3 Ornithological Checklist of India
Appendix 4 Mammals Checklist for India
Appendix 5 Threatened Animals of India
Appendix 6 Status Accounts for Selected Threatened Indian Mammals
Appendix 7 Conservation Status Listing of Indian Plants
Appendix 8 United Nations List of Protected Areas of India (1993)
Appendix 9 List of Protected Areas for Kerala State
Figures
Figure 1 Location Map of India
Figure 2 Important Wetland Areas
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Figure 3 Distribution of Major Moist Forest Formations
Figure 4 Moist Forest Distribution for Kerala State
Figure 5 Coral Reefs of the Nicobar Islands
Figure 6 Turtle Nesting Sites for the Andaman Islands
Figure 7 Centres of Plant Diversity and Endemic Bird Areas
Figure 8 Protected Areas of India
Figure 9 Protected Areas of Kerala State
Tables
Table 1 Comparison Between the Number of Species in India and the World
Table 2 Globally Threatened Animalss Occurring in India by Status Category
Table 3 Summary of Plant Conservation Status Information at WCMC
References
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Survey of India, Howrah. 24 pp.
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Natraj Publishers, Dehra Dun. Pp. 147-163.
Champion, H.G. (1936). A preliminary survey of the forest types of India and Burma. Indian
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Champion, H.G. and Seth, S.K. (1968). A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India.
Govt of India Press, Delhi. 404 pp.
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FAO/UNEP (1981). Tropical forest resources assessment project. Technical report No. 3.
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